LEAMINGTON MAN JAILED FOR SEX OFFENCE AFTER VIGILANTE GROUP SET DECOY ONLINE
A man from Leamington was detained by a vigilante group after initiating contact with someone he believed was a 13-year-old girl online, requesting indecent images from her.During the hearing, a judge told John Shepherd that, although she disapproved of the activities carried out by the vigilante group, he still participated in a conversation with an individual he thought was a minor of 13 years old.
Shepherd, aged 52 and residing on Buckley Road in Leamington, pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to trying to persuade a child to partake in sexual acts.
Although his defense argued for a possible suspension of the sentence because he was the primary caregiver for his disabled partner, he was sentenced to nine months in prison and required to register as a sex offender for a decade.
Prosecutor Robert Underwood explained that Shane Brannigan was part of a group that scoured the internet for individuals possibly interested in children and created a fake profile of a girl named Alice on a chat platform.
It was not long before Shepherd engaged with the profile he believed to belong to a 13-year-old girl named Alice, who was actually an adult woman within the group acting as a decoy.
Shepherd engaged in sexualized discussions with her, sent a photograph of himself, and then asked her to engage in sexual acts while sending him explicit images.
In December 2016, Brannigan and another group member visited Shepherd’s home, confronting him aggressively before calling the police.
Authorities arrested Shepherd shortly afterward.
Defense lawyer Jonathan Coode described the situation as involving vigilante activity and stated that the offending was not pleasant to read about.
He emphasized that Shepherd thought he was engaging in online role-play and did not intend to meet anyone in person.
Both decoys recruited by Brannigan indicated no plans to meet, with Shepherd describing the activity as a form of fantasy.
Mr.
Coode also highlighted Shepherd’s health condition—chronic obstructive pulmonary disease—and his role as the sole carer for his severely disabled partner, handling all her care including meal preparation and assistance upstairs.
He noted that social services indicated a care package could be arranged but questioned whether care agencies would be willing to enter the property, given its condition.
The lawyer pointed out that Shepherd had already suffered significant repercussions—threats, an assault involving a bicycle accident that left him injured, and destruction of his bicycle—due to the vigilante group's activities.
While requesting a suspended sentence, the judge, Recorder Anupama Thompson, stated, “What you tried to do was to incite a child to engage in sexual activity over the internet.
You were arrested after a vigilante group, calling themselves paedophile hunters, created a fake profile of a 13-year-old girl named Alice.
Shortly after, you made contact with her, leading to highly sexualized conversations.”
